Westampton Township Historical Society

07/03/2017

Metal Detecting Guidelines:
1. Have permission from the landowner.

2. If you find anything of importance, take a photo with your phone (if your phone does locations) so you can record the GPS coordinates of the find, BEFORE you take it up or out of the ground. In fact, if possible or feasible, leave the artifact in place.

3. Contact a local historical society to see if you can establish the history of the location.

4. Contact your state or county archaeological group to have the find and location recorded.

The federal government, and your local state government have very specific guidelines about who owns historical finds, especially finds that are prehistoric or Native American in origin. So get with your local archaeological group - google it for your state or county - if you find anything important.

05/26/2017

During the 1700's and 1800's there were many barges and ferries going up and down the Rancocas river and also to and from Philadelphia. If any one has any info or photos of where the docks were located on the Rancocas, we'd love to hear from you. Thank you!

04/06/2017

The next meeting of the Westampton Township Historical Society (WTHS) will be Wednesday, April 19th. The meeting will be from 7:00pm to approximately 7:30pm

Special: Immediately following the meeting we will be showing the Oral History video we have of Margaret "Peggy" Bowker (1924-2012). She grew up in Rancocas and many will remember her as our Postmaster for many years.

When Margaret "Peggy" Janney was born on November 15, 1924, in Rancocas, New Jersey, her father, Ernest, was 30, and her mother, Frances, was 28. She had one son and three daughters with Keith Horner Bowker. She died on November 23, 2012, in Mount Holly, New Jersey, at the age of 88, and was buried in her hometown.

Come hear her stories of growing up in Rancocas. Free to all - no charge.

Light refreshments will be available.

01/19/2017

The next Westampton Township Historical Society (WTHS) meeting is:

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 at 7:00 pm

Rancocas Community Center
203 Main Street
Rancocas, NJ 08073
609-267-2641

All are welcome! Please check back for any updates or cancellations. Hope to see you there.

12/15/2016

Our next meeting of the WTHS is on December 21, 2016 at 7pm at the Rancocas Community Center (former firehouse) All are welcome! Please check back for any updates or cancellations. Hope to see you there.

07/31/2016

We'd love to save this historic old building (1754) and barn.

More photos of the Asher Woolman house coming soon, thanks to Dennis Weaver.

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07/30/2016

Did you know...

Ella M. Lippincott (from her article 1950s):
My mother told how Grandfather was hoeing his berries when he heard a cryer on horseback coming down the road, and as he galloped he shouted, “Abraham Lincoln assassinated.” He dropped his hoe and went to the house in tears, crying, “Hannah, Hannah, they have killed Abraham Lincoln,” and wept like a baby. His interest in the community was wide and Lincoln’s death was deeply mourned.

07/25/2016

Did you know...

from Gail Astle's article:
Timbuctoo: A Stop on the Underground Railroad

Timbuctoo includes Church St., Blue Jay Hill Road, and adjacent areas. With the support of local Quakers, it was founded c1820 by free Blacks and runaway slaves. At its peak in the mid-nineteenth century, Timbuctoo had more than 125 residents, a school, an AME Zion Church, and a cemetery. The key remaining evidence of this community is the cemetery on Church Street, which contains graves of Black Civil War Veterans. Some current residents are descendants of early settlers.
http://rancocasvillagenj.org/wths_reference/timbuctoo-memorial/

Memorial Day Eulogy May 25th, 2008 at Timbuctoo Cemetery in Westampton Township, New Jersey by Gail Astle Dedicated to the memory of (1935-2009), whose special dedication to preserving the history of Timbuctoo lives on! - - - This is an expanded version of a Memorial Day eulogy that Gail Astle

05/15/2016

For anyone interested in local history, the Burlington County Library System has a good search of the New Jersey Mirror newspaper. http://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/newspapers/newjerseymirror/

Nathan Palmer began publishing the "Burlington Mirror" in 1818 in Mount Holly, the county seat for Burlington County, New Jersey, as a weekly newspaper focusing on business and real estate concerns of the county. The newspaper quickly expanded coverage to include news, commentary and social events.…

04/25/2016

Hi, Folks,

If anyone has vintage photos of Rancocas or Westampton, NJ, we'd loved to see them and share them with everyone! The past shouldn't be left in a drawer or closet. We can post them here and on the website (www.RancocasVillageNJ.org) for everyone to enjoy... and of course, give you photo credit.

We're in the process of getting the Rancocas Community Center back to how it once was and hope to someday have a museum on the second floor.

We can possibly buy your old photos from you if you want to sell them.... and not just photos. We'd love to see vintage items from this area (Rancocas: milk bottles; fire company badges, etc.; general store stuff; deeds and other types of paper;).

If you'd like to write an article about you or your family's life in days gone by, we'd love to read it and possibly post it on our website.

Let us hear from you! Thank you.

Welcome to the website of the historic Rancocas Village, nestled among the rolling farms and quaint towns of central New Jersey!

04/25/2016

Did you know....

Miriam E. Tyler (from her article in 1990):
The Grange Hall located at the end of Second Street was once a public school. There were four classrooms downstairs and four rooms upstairs. Later the children went to Willingboro school and were driven by Grandpa Billy Bowker. Next this building became the Grange Hall. In recent years it has been bought to be converted into a private dwelling.

Circa 1874. Built by the Trustees of Willingboro School District #32. Later purchased and operated as Rancocas Grange #131 from 1918 until 1968. Teachers identified with this school were Jacob Knight, Susan Haines, Mordecai Matlack, Martha Haines, David Stokes, Merebiah Wright, Jarret Stokes and William Stokes.